Horseshoes Star a Dead Ringer for a Printer —Cagle

The Times article, which appeared July 20, gave some much-deserved attention to the sport of horseshoe pitching, according to Francis. He has since heard from The CBS Evening News and The David Letterman Show.

"I have done two radio interviews: A live broadcast on a sports talk show in Cincinnati, as well as a taped interview with CBS Network Radio in New York," Francis told Printing Impressions. "In addition, I received many well wishes from all across the globe for (August's) World Championships. It was very much an honor to have a story written in The New York Times."

It's certainly not the first time that Francis has received such high recognition. You can find a trading card (shown above) of Alan Francis in the 2010 Allen & Ginter set released by sports card king Topps. His is card No. 48, and there is an autographed version, along with a black miniature parallel, a relics jersey card and a framed silk card, of which only 10 exist. The packs of cards can be found in retail stores and are readily available online at eBay.

"It's a real thrill to be featured in the same set with the likes of Albert Pujols and A-Rod," Francis related.

Truth be known, given his horseshoe dominance, Pujols and Alex Rodriguez should be honored to be included in the same set as Alan Francis.

NO LAUGHING MATTER: When NBA star LeBron James decided to switch teams, leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat via free agency, it prompted Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert to launch into a legendary tirade, a jilt manifesto not seen or heard since Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know."

This is old news to you by now, of course. Gilbert was socked with a heavy fine by the NBA for his borderline scathing indictment of James via an open letter to the city of Cleveland and its basketball fans that was posted on the team's Website. In the letter, he called James' move to Miami a "cowardly betrayal." But Gilbert received even more heat (ha-ha) for, of all things, his use of the Comic Sans font in the letter.